As I said then, there's always a choice--do I go for the (BrE) slow burner that's been wheedling its way into the other country, or do I go for something that was splashy in the news? I went for the slow burner for US-to-UK because it really did seem to resonate in 2017. But I couldn't find as good a reason to promote any of the UK-to-US slowburners (and there are a lot of them--as Ben Yagoda's been tracking) to special status for 2017. So I'm going way back to February when I tweeted this:

Now, there is some similarity between this winner and yesterday's US>UK runner-up mugwump, in that they are both funny-sounding insults hurled by one politician at another. But mugwump wasn't a winner because people in the UK aren't going (BrE) about/(AmE) around using the word mugwump just because one politician did. Shitgibbon, on the other hand, has stuck. Searching it just now on Twitter, I get it in about a half-dozen American tweets per hour. ([AmE] Your mileage may vary, especially depending on the hour and your timezone.) Mostly, the tweets have noun phrases like orange shitgibbon and refer to the very same person as in Leach's tweet. But the usage does seem to drift a bit, with, for instance, reference to "shitgibbon trolls"—which may be a way of calling the trolls 'Trumpist', or it may just be used generally to insult them.

Bahahahahaha! "Shitgibbon joins wanker and bollocks in the ranks of UK>US WotYs that help keep this blog banned in schools." Too funny. Loved the lesson on season vs. series as well, wasn't aware the BrE difference! Cheers from Copenhagen.

But mugwump wasn't a winner because people in the UK aren't going (BrE) about/(AmE) around using the word mugwump just because one politician did.

I think the reason is different. No matter how many or how few politicians used the word it was the wrong sort of target. That word none of us has heard of did survive because it stuck to Trump. Nothing sticks to Jeremy Corbyn. well, not this sort of invective or implied invective.

Most of us quit like Jeremy, and not a few admire him. Many oppose his political views, but only those of a strong right-wing bent will make a serious personal attack. Yes, there's a lot of ridicule, but it's generally head-shakingly affectionate.

If you want to attack Jeremy Corbyn's politics, you're best advised to attack those close to him (principally Dianne Abbott or John McConnell), the organisation that supports him (Momentum) or the allegedly naive and mindless crows of young people who cheer him even at a major pop festival.

Before Boris's mugwump attempt, the usual word was dynosaur. that didn't work either.

The thing about shitgibbon that I really appreciate, aside from just how funny it sounds, is that it is an insult that attacks neither the target's gender, sexuality, background or religion. Anyone can be a shitgibbon!

And gibbon is one of those words that many in the UK find inherently funny.I remember, many decades ago from some wireless program that I now forget, a song about stuffing a gibbon:"...Give that gibbon what he's hollering for O, O, O, O..." or something along those lines.

That would be I'm Sorry I'll Read that Again, which often mentioned gibbons. They also mentioned Edward Empire, who wrote The Decline and Fall of the Roman Gibbon, and Stanley Stamp, author of the The Stanley Stamp Gibbon Catalogue.

A fun show, performed by John Cleese, Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Jo Kendall, and David Hatch. Sir David Hatch went on to be head of BBC Light Entertainment.

I've also missed this expression hitherto, but it's a lot going for it. It has a ring about it. It's self-evidently derogatory. It's obviously not something anybody wants to be. You don't have to stop and speculate whether it's a compliment or an insult. It references an animal which is inherently funny. And once coupled with the adjective 'orange', it appositely fits the person being insulted, without one having to stop and speculate whom it is referencing.

That's was surprising rise of shitgibbon, UK To Us . just how funny it sounds, and yeah it probably insult that attacks neither the target's gender, sexuality, background or religion. Anyone can be a shitgibbon!

I'll wager that the term didn't arise or gain ground from a connection with gibbon-like, or orange, people. I think it belongs to a rich seam of absurdist insults from the last few decades, best exemplified by one Chris Morris and those influenced by him. Cockwomble, asscandle and such.